Couple admits to Hampton, Seabrook bank robberies and implicate each other

HAMPTON -- A boyfriend and girlfriend who allegedly robbed three banks in Hampton and Seabrook admitted to police they carried out the heists together, but also implicated each other before being charged, according to police.

Jason Pratt, 29, of Hampton was being arraigned for two of the Hampton bank robberies in 10th Circuit Court in Seabrook on Tuesday when Seabrook police arrested him for a third robbery in their town.

They also arrested Pratt's girlfriend, Danielle Reader, 30, who allegedly served as a driver and scoped out banks to target in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Pratt is facing three counts of robbery for allegedly using a threatening note allegedly written by Reader. She is being held in county jail on three counts of liability for conduct of another.

The robberies happened between March 22 and April 3. The duo allegedly ruled out robbing banks in Massachusetts because they were afraid that surveillance cameras on traffic lights would identify them, court records say.

Police began to unravel the couple's alleged robbery spree on April 25 when a confidential informant tipped Hampton police Detective Chris Gilroy that Pratt was their bank robbery suspect.

Seabrook Police Detective Daniel Lawrence received a tip from another informant two days later that Reader confided that her boyfriend was responsible for the robberies and that they got over $10,000.

Reader was arrested at the Seabrook police station on May 1, and agreed to be interviewed.

She told police that Pratt did not disclose what he was doing ahead of time when he pulled the first heist at Provident Bank in Seabrook on March 22. Pratt pulled over into an apartment complex and told her he was going to rob a bank and gave her instructions on where to pick him up, according to her interview with police.

Reader claimed she did not believe her boyfriend would actually rob the bank, but did as she was told and met up with him in front of a Staples store nearby after the robbery, police said.

She went on to claim that she had no prior knowledge of Pratt robbing any of the three banks, Lawrence said in a sworn affidavit.

Pratt, who was being held at the Rockingham County jail on an unrelated charge, requested to talk to police through his lawyer on May 3.

He told police that Reader had just as much knowledge and involvement as he did, in planning and carrying out the three robberies, according to Lawrence.

She eventually admitted to her role in the robberies during a separate police interview, according to court records.

While acting as the getaway driver, Reader told police during the April 3 robbery she went into Dunkin Donuts on Lafayette Road for a coffee while Pratt walked into the Provident Bank next door and threatened a bank clerk.

Reader hopped back into her boyfriend's truck and drove behind the Galley Hatch restaurant to pick him up, police said.

She used a similar ploy during the April 20 robbery of TD Bank on High Street when she walked into a local restaurant for a few minutes and grabbed a menu while a disguised Pratt held up the bank, Hampton police Det. Stephen Champey said in an affidavit.

Reader allegedly told police the money from the robberies was used to buy heroin and eight balls of cocaine.

Pratt and Reader remain held at local county jails as they await possible indictment by a grand jury.

Police are asking for the public’s help identifying a woman accused of breaking into several cars last month and stealing valuables inside.

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